Abstract:
Sri Lanka’s dam network is pivotal in water resources management for irrigated agriculture and hydropower generation. Irrespective of the existence of an extensive dam network, Sri Lanka lacks well-established safety protocols for the operation of dams, assuring the protection of these assets and the safety of downstream communities and the environment. Having identified the need, the Irrigation Department has recently compiled a set of dam safety guidelines. This research was conducted with the aim of benchmarking the compiled safety guidelines against international standards. Following a thorough review of the guidelines, consultation of eighteen experts at seven earthen embankment dams in Polonnaruwa and Matara regions was conducted to collect necessary data for the research. The consultants comprised two parties: (1) On-site dam engineers and (2) Experts involved in preparing guidelines. The targeted aspects of the expert questionnaire comprised geotechnical, structural, hydro-technical, seismic, risk assessment and emergency management. Collected data was analysed by constructing a “Maturity Matrix” for Sri Lankan guidelines and for each dam site operation. The results revealed that Sri Lankan guidelines compare well with international guidelines in most aspects, while there is a notable deficiency when addressing seismic considerations. Overall, the guidelines can be taken as aiming at enforcing ‘good practice’ while much improvement is needed in present field practice to reach the expectations of guidelines with further improvement to receive a rating of ‘very good practice’ compared to international norms. The qualitative analysis emphasized that regular monitoring of dams is vital; many experts highlighted that guidelines should be ‘implemented’ and identified instrumentation and documentation as needing critical attention within current practice. Looking forward, the study recommends using advanced technology such as GIS based software tools for a positive change in how we manage dams and aspires to lay the groundwork for an integrated dam safety management framework in the country.
